Can I reuse material to save money?

            We hear this a lot.  Some building was being torn down and I salvaged the lumber.  Can you use that first?

            NO.  Salvaged lumber, although environmentally conscious, costs a lot of money in labor.  Typically they are strewn with rusty, broken nails that have to be removed.  If not tools and equipment take a lot of abuse.  Is a $3 2x4 worth an $80 saw blade and $4 of stripping labor?  And to top it off, dimensions usually don’t match each other nor new lumber, so the inside of a wall surface isn’t flat.

            Can I have the trees on the site milled for lumber?  I guess you could but it isn’t cost effective either.  Having it milled is an expense, and you really don’t want to build with green, rough cut lumber.  As lumber dries it shrinks.  This would be evident everywhere in the house, and it’ll cause numerous problems.  Framing lumber has already been dried down to 19% moisture content in a controlled environment, so it won’t shrink nearly as much.  And additionally, rough cut lumber has to be graded by a certified professional before it can be used, yet another expense.

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